


You Don't Have to be Alone

by I_D_E_K



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alcohol, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Brief Lance/Lotor, Cheating, Gay Keith (Voltron), Lotor is a huge prick in this I'm sorry, M/M, Marijuana, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Recreational Drug Use, it's barely there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-27 23:47:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20956931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_D_E_K/pseuds/I_D_E_K
Summary: Lance and Lotor had been together for four years - if you could call Lance getting his heart broken and cheated on repeatedly a relationship - before a fingerless glove-wearing stranger gave him the strength to finally break free.All Lance can think about is the warmth of the stranger’s arms, the smell of rum and cigarettes, and the four words that he had uttered to Lance before disappearing; ‘you deserve better, Lance’.Before long, Lance is looking for Red in every person he meets.Who is the stranger that he owes his newfound happiness to?Who is the person that keeps slipping poems in to his backpack?And who the hell is Keith?





	You Don't Have to be Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! I was listening to some 2000's R&B this morning and Ne-Yo Single came on and this little thang popped in to my head. I've only read it over once so please feel free to point out any mistakes I might have made and let me know if you like it or not. I do apologise if it's rushed I was very, very excited to write this haha
> 
> Hope you enjoy, please leave a kudos, a comment, whatever floats your boat <3

Lance had turned his back for five minutes to get a drink for himself and Lotor. He can’t have been gone longer than ten, but by the time he returned to the room where everyone was dancing, grinding against one another, his boyfriend had found someone else that grasped his attention. 

She had a lock of his hair - hair that Lance had taken sweet time out of his day to cut and style for him - curled around her finger, back pressed up against the wall as Lotor leaned close and flirted with her. This wasn’t the first time that Lotor had ditched Lance at a party but inevitably he always, always managed to worm his way back in to Lance’s heart. They would break up, Lance would cry for a week and then Lotor would show up wasted at Lance and Hunk’s apartment, puke in their toilet - while Lance held that stupid hair back - and beg him to take him back. Of course, Lance being Lance, would never say no. 

It had been that way for four years and Lance... well, he was scared to be alone. So, Lotor got to do whatever he pleased and Lance; Lance got to get drunk. After downing Lotor’s gin and tonic and his own vodka lemonade, he returned to the drinks table and poured out another for himself, making a silent promise that by the end of the night he wouldn’t remember his own name.

***

The party was still in full swing, Lance was certifiably wasted and he was convincing himself that there was not a single fuck in the world that he could find to give. He was dancing on his own, bass thumping through his feet and giving him the life that he needed to move his body in ways that put Shakira to shame. Only his carelessness faded away when the song changed. He couldn’t quite remember the name of the song but he distinctly remembered being in his single bed at his Mama’s house while she was at work and he had skipped school because he and Lotor were going to ‘do it’ for the very first time. He opened his eyes and spotted Lotor grinding against a different girl, his lips moving over her neck in the same way that they had moved over his not two nights ago. 

He steeled his nerves and took a deep breath. He was going to confront him, liquid confidence urging him forward. He only stopped when he felt fingers wind through his own and arms wrap around him in a hold that immediately made his chest swell with warmth. He should have been thrashing around and screaming, yelling every curse word at the stranger behind him - he had a boyfriend after all. But oddly enough, Lance didn’t want to.

“Dance with me.” A gruff voice spoke in to Lance’s ear and, too drunk to really care, he nodded, leaning back against the figure behind him and looking down at red sleeves and pale hands encased in fingerless gloves as they swayed together. He couldn’t place the feeling but it was almost as if the stranger knew exactly what he was going through and was giving him the strength that he needed to not make a fool of himself again. He let the person hold him, breathing in the smell of rum and cigarettes that clung to him. It was oddly comforting, swaying from side to side in the warm circle of his arms.

As the song neared it’s end, the stranger turned his face in to Lance’s cheek, pressing his lips against his smooth skin and kissing one, two, three times, lingering for a moment before his lips followed a featherlight path to his ear, leaving a trail of heat in their wake.

“You deserve better, Lance.” He whispered and as the song faded out, so did the stranger’s warmth. Lance stood stock still for a beat, questioning whether that had really just happened. His eyes fell on Lotor now blatantly making out with the girl but all he cared about was the hooded figure moving through the crowd. He raised a hand to his cheek and was shocked to find that he was crying, realised that he had been for long enough that his eyes were puffy and his nose was stuffed. He quickly wiped his tears and tried to go after the stranger, losing him in the distance and stumbling when the crowd thinned and provided less support.

***

Lance hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Red, as he had taken to calling him. Every time he smelled cigarette smoke he prayed to turn around and see gloved hands but was always met with disappointment. He hadn’t spoken to his boyfriend since the party. He wasn’t returning Lotor’s calls, he read his text messages but neglected to reply. He was yet to apologise for his behaviour at the party, but then again Lance usually had to pry an apology from him like he was trying to learn the codes for nuclear missiles.

“Lotor came by today.” Hunk said between chews as they alternated between eating Chinese takeout and taking hits from the bong that sat between them on the couch, reruns of Friends playing low in the background. “Said you haven’t been returning his calls.”

“He cheated on me again.” Lance mumbled in to his chow mein.

“Oh Lance, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t pretend like you’re surprised.” He scoffed. “I’m not.”

“Still, you don’t deserve that, bud.” Hunk reached over and pulled Lance to lean against his shoulder, comforting his best friend.

“I know that now.” Lance nodded and set his container on the coffee table, picking up his lighter and igniting it before holding it over the bowl. He pressed his lips against the mouthpiece and inhaled the smoke, lifting the bowl out to get the last few dregs. “Hunk, something really weird happened that night.” He mumbled before letting the smoke out of his nose. “I couldn’t tell if I was just wasted or if it was real at the time but I know now; deep down, I know it was real.”

“What happened?” Hunk set his own container down, frowning as he took the glass and the lighter from Lancez

“I was dancing and I saw Lotor grinding on this girl and kissing her neck and I was so mad. I was gonna go and confront them and I started walking over but then someone put his arms around me and asked me to dance with him and I did.” He paused, reliving the experience, feeling tears prick the backs of his eyes as he continued. “Hunk, it felt like I was receiving all the love and the comfort that I haven’t been getting from Lotor for the last three years and it was so overwhelming that I cried. We only danced for one song but he kissed my cheek and he- he told me I deserved better. He said ‘you deserve better, Lance’ and then he was just gone.”

“It sounds weird. Maybe you were just upset and drunk and that’s why it felt so comforting. He sounds kinda creepy if you asked me.” Lance sat up and stuttered before speaking.

“He didn’t feel creepy, he felt- it felt like someone actually loved me.”

“A guy you just met? Lance, buddy, I love you and you’re fantastic but you don’t always make the greatest first impressions.” Hunk chuckled and Lance gave him a tight smile, looking down at his hands.

“I know what I felt, Hunk.” He said softly, picturing the pale fingers interlaced with his own.

“Did you see his face?” Hunk asked, noticing just how out of it his best friend was.

“No. He was behind me and then by the time I spotted him again he was half way across the room with his hood up. All I know is that he’s pale and he was wearing a red hoodie and fingerless gloves.”

“Fingerless gloves? In twenty-nineteen?” He joked, hoping to catch a glimpse of the bubbly, flirty Lance that he was used to.

“I know, it’s a fashion travesty, but I don’t even care. He could have been wearing a top hat for all I care, all I know is that I felt... I felt warm and- and safe.”

His phone buzzed on the arm of the couch and Lance picked up the device, sighing down at the message.

_❤️❤️❤️ Lottie ❤️❤️❤️_   
_Is this abt wot happnd @ tht party? _   
_It dnt mean nything bby I still luv u xxxxxx_

He took a deep breath and ran his tongue over his teeth, sitting up straight as his fingers flew over the keyboard, sending the message before he could second guess himself.

_Yes it is, Lotor. I’m done being _   
_your play thing. You Don’t love me _   
_and you never did. Stop texting, stop calling. _   
_It’s over._

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! Chapter 2 coming soon...


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